H 4194 Session 109 (1991-1992)
H 4194 General Bill, By H.H. Keyserling
A Bill to amend Chapter 9, Title 47, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to general livestock provisions, by adding Article 7 so as to
establish immunity from liability for injuries or death to a person engaged in
an equine activity caused by an inherent risk of equine activity.
01/16/92 House Introduced and read first time HJ-10
01/16/92 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-10
02/05/92 House Committee report: Favorable Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-5
02/12/92 House Committed to Committee on Judiciary HJ-18
04/14/92 House Tabled in committee
COMMITTEE REPORT
February 5, 1992
H. 4194
Introduced by REP. Keyserling
S. Printed 2/5/92--H.
Read the first time January 16, 1992.
THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL
AFFAIRS
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4194), to amend Chapter 9, Title 47,
Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to general livestock
provisions, etc., respectfully
REPORT:
That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and
recommend that the same do pass:
L. EDWARD BENNETT, for Committee.
A BILL
TO AMEND CHAPTER 9, TITLE 47, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO GENERAL LIVESTOCK
PROVISIONS, BY ADDING ARTICLE 7 SO AS TO ESTABLISH
IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR INJURIES OR DEATH TO A
PERSON ENGAGED IN AN EQUINE ACTIVITY CAUSED BY AN
INHERENT RISK OF EQUINE ACTIVITY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 9 of Title 47 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
"Article 7
Equine Liability Immunity
Section 47-9-710. As used in this chapter:
(1) `Engages in an equine activity' means riding, training,
providing or assisting in providing medical treatment of, driving, or
being a passenger upon an equine, whether mounted or unmounted, or
a person assisting a participant or show management. `Engages in an
equine activity' does not include being a spectator at an equine activity,
except in cases where the spectator places himself in an unauthorized
area and in immediate proximity to the equine activity.
(2) `Equine' means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny.
(3) `Equine activity' means:
(a) an equine show, fair, competition, performance, or parade that
involves a breed of equine and an equine discipline, including, but not
limited to, dressage, hunter and jumper horse shows, grand prix jumping,
three-day events, combined training, rodeos, driving, pulling, cutting,
polo, steeplechasing, English and western performance riding,
endurance trail riding and western games, and hunting;
(b) equine training or teaching activities, or both;
(c) boarding equines;
(d) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine belonging to
another, whether the owner has received monetary consideration or
another thing of value for the use of the equine or is permitting a
prospective purchaser of the equine to ride, inspect, or evaluate the
equine;
(e) a ride, trip, hunt, or other equine activity, however informal
or impromptu, that is sponsored by an equine activity sponsor;
(f) placing or replacing a horseshoe on an equine; and
(g) examining or administering medical treatment to an equine
by a veterinarian.
(4) `Equine activity sponsor' means an individual, group, club,
partnership, or corporation, whether the sponsor is operating for profit
or nonprofit, which sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an
equine activity, including, but not limited to, a pony club, 4-H club, hunt
club, riding club, school and college-sponsored class, program, and
activity, therapeutic riding program, and an operator, instructor, and
promoter of an equine facility, including, but not limited to, a stable,
clubhouse, ponyride string, fair, and an arena at which the activity is
held.
(5) `Equine professional' means a person engaged for
compensation in:
(a) instructing a participant or renting to a participant an equine
for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon the equine;
(b) renting equipment or tack to a participant; or
(c) examining or administering medical treatment to an equine as
a veterinarian.
(6) `Inherent risk of equine activity' means those dangers or
conditions which are an integral part of equine activities, including, but
not limited to:
(a) the propensity of an equine to behave in ways that may result
in injury, harm, or death to a person on or around the equine;
(b) the unpredictability of an equine's reaction to sound,
sudden movement, an unfamiliar object, person, or other animal;
(c) certain hazards, as surface and subsurface conditions;
(d) collisions with other equines or objects; and
(e) the potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner that
may contribute to injury to the participant or others, as failing to
maintain control over the animal or not acting within the participant's
ability.
(7) `Participant' means a person, whether amateur or professional,
who engages in an equine activity, whether a fee is paid to participate in
the equine activity.
Section 47-9-720. (A) Except as provided in subsection (B), an
equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person,
which includes a corporation or partnership, is not liable for an injury to
or the death of a participant resulting from an inherent risk of equine
activity, and no participant or participant's representative may make a
claim against, maintain an action against, or recover from an equine
activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person for injury,
loss, damage, or death of the participant resulting from an inherent risk
of equine activity.
(B) Nothing in subsection (A) prevents or limits the liability of an
equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person if
the equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or person:
(1) (a) provided the equipment or tack and knew or should
have known that the equipment or tack was faulty, and the equipment or
tack was faulty to the extent that it caused the injury; or
(b) provided the equine and failed to make reasonable and
prudent efforts to determine the ability of the participant to engage
safely in the equine activity and to safely manage the particular equine
based on the participant's representations of his ability;
(2) owns, leases, rents, or otherwise is in lawful possession
and control of the land or facilities upon which the participant sustained
injuries because of a dangerous latent condition which was known or
should have been known to the equine activity sponsor, equine
professional, or person and for which warning signs have not been
conspicuously posted;
(3) committed an act or omission that constitutes wilful or
wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and that act or
omission caused the injury; or
(4) intentionally injured the participant.
(C) Nothing in subsection (A) prevents or limits the liability of an
equine activity sponsor or an equine professional under liability
provisions as set forth in the products liability laws.
Section 47-9-730. (A) An equine professional and an equine
activity sponsor shall post and maintain signs which contain the warning
notice specified in subsection (B). These signs must be placed in a
clearly visible location on or near stables, corrals, or arenas where the
equine professional or the equine activity sponsor conducts equine
activities. The warning notice specified in subsection (B) must appear
on the sign in black letters with each letter a minimum of one inch in
height. A written contract entered into by an equine professional or by
an equine activity sponsor to provide professional services, instruction,
or rental of equipment, tack, or an equine to a participant, whether or not
the contract involves equine activities on or off the location or site of the
business of the equine professional or the equine activity sponsor, must
contain in clearly readable print the warning notice specified in
subsection (B).
(B) A sign and contract described in subsection (A) must contain
the following warning notice:
WARNING
Under South Carolina law, an equine activity sponsor or equine
professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant
in an equine activity resulting from an inherent risk of equine
activity, pursuant to Article 7, Chapter 9 of Title 47, Code of Laws
of South Carolina, 1976.
(C) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning warning
signs and notices provided in this section prevents an equine activity
sponsor or equine professional from invoking the privileges of immunity
provided by this article."
SECTION 2. This act applies only to causes of action arising on or
after this act's effective date.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 1992.
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